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Jul 1, 2011
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i spent some time in afghanistan. i am hopeful that either one of you will test us here at not acknowledge that bribes have been an essential part of us doing business in afghanistan, regardless of what we are doing. what can you tell the committee about bribes in the bribes that have been paid at various places and levels, whether it is under the aegis of security or other services that are needed by local folks that are used to getting their piece of the pie? >> i can tell you, we do not have any part of that whatsoever. we have a very strict company policy against bribes, and we'd just do not participate in that. on several locations, it costs us delays. we have had to suffer because we did not agree to play that game. but we really do not. >> mr. walker? >> we have seen no evidence of our security personnel providing bribes. the casualties that we're taking would indicate that that is not something that we sponsor or that our security provides. >> i assume as the security costs went way up, the casualties went dow
i spent some time in afghanistan. i am hopeful that either one of you will test us here at not acknowledge that bribes have been an essential part of us doing business in afghanistan, regardless of what we are doing. what can you tell the committee about bribes in the bribes that have been paid at various places and levels, whether it is under the aegis of security or other services that are needed by local folks that are used to getting their piece of the pie? >> i can tell you, we do...
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Jul 22, 2011
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>> sir, i served in iraq and afghanistan. i served it year, and you see again and again the state department, usaid, having difficulties adjusting to the challenge of a warfare. when i start working on yemen it's a very familiar situation to me although it's not a xerox of afghanistan. it is focused on working with local partners that may or may not work in areas where we are mostly concerned with. it's overly centralized. it's a very focused on process and sort of the factions that are in the national capital. if i could tell you -- i can't think what the political opposition is in the province where the -- in addition to serving that which is going on in sanaa. we don't have a good understanding of human terrain. just not in afghanistan were mapping the human terrain. and it iraq the it almost happened by accident. they have the anbar awakening. our sensitivity to these nonstate types of identities is very not particularly well-developed. and i think most of our human terrain is probably focused on the counterterrorism miss
>> sir, i served in iraq and afghanistan. i served it year, and you see again and again the state department, usaid, having difficulties adjusting to the challenge of a warfare. when i start working on yemen it's a very familiar situation to me although it's not a xerox of afghanistan. it is focused on working with local partners that may or may not work in areas where we are mostly concerned with. it's overly centralized. it's a very focused on process and sort of the factions that are...
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Jul 26, 2011
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part -- the other factor is that we are now drawing down the cost of our military efforts in afghanistan and iraq. last year we spent a little over $150 billion. this year we'll spend a little over $100 billion. and the plan is to soon be down to at least $50 billion in two or three years. so over the ten-year period there'll be about eight years at nearly $50 billion or so spent on the war instead of $150 billion. that's part of thelan that we've been operating on for a long time. $150 billion for the w is not baseline expenditure of the united states. it was never projected to continue at that level, so hopefully we could bring it below $50 billion. maybe we went get to $50 billion. i don't know. but what is the reasonable estimate? i think the house republicans and the president said it would drop to $50 billion, and that would be the baseline out there for the rest of the time. that's $1 trillion. that's $1 trillion. so you take $1 trillion out of the $2.7 trillion, you're down to $1.7 trlion. and another thing that's scored in tt, since that $1 trillion in war costs is scored the wa
part -- the other factor is that we are now drawing down the cost of our military efforts in afghanistan and iraq. last year we spent a little over $150 billion. this year we'll spend a little over $100 billion. and the plan is to soon be down to at least $50 billion in two or three years. so over the ten-year period there'll be about eight years at nearly $50 billion or so spent on the war instead of $150 billion. that's part of thelan that we've been operating on for a long time. $150 billion...
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Jul 13, 2011
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they were some of the first boots on the ground in afghanistan. they have been deployed continuously ever since. today, we can see our progress in this war and our success against al qaeda, and we're beginning to bring our troops home from afghanistan this summer. understand there will be more fighting - and more sacrifices - in the months and years to come. but i am confident that because of the service of men and women like leroy, we will be able to say of this generation what president reagan once said of those rangers who took the cliffs on d-day -- "these are the heroes who helped end a war." i would ask all of our rangers -- members of the 9/11 generation -- to stand and accept the thanks of a grateful nation. finally, the service of leroy petry speaks to the very essence of america -- that spirit that says, no matter how hard the journey, no matter how steep the climb, we don't quit. we don't give up. leroy lost a hand and those wounds in his legs sometimes make it hard for him to stand. but he pushes on, and even joined his fellow rangers
they were some of the first boots on the ground in afghanistan. they have been deployed continuously ever since. today, we can see our progress in this war and our success against al qaeda, and we're beginning to bring our troops home from afghanistan this summer. understand there will be more fighting - and more sacrifices - in the months and years to come. but i am confident that because of the service of men and women like leroy, we will be able to say of this generation what president...
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Jul 2, 2011
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every day, every day, repeated the, we read about fraud in afghanistan, iraq, pakistan, and now the congress wants us, after giving away our jobs, not fair trade, free trade agreements -- now they want to go back and give them away with korea. i cannot believe the direction that this country has gone in. we keep talking about corporate tax rates. that is the key word. "rate." they are not paying 35%. they are paying 4%, 6%, 9%, and i am making up the difference. the irs is after a relative of mine who lost their job. they owe them $5,000. karzei and his brother have walked off with billions of dollars and our congress cannot seem to stop it. guest: well, there is a lot there. obviously, a lot of these countries, and it is very disappointing to see fraud and hopefully over time it will go down, i do not want to make any excuses for it because there are no excuses for that activity. a lot of these countries do not have the same developed a rule of law that we have over here. even in our country, there have been instances of fraud and bribery and things like that. there were huge problems in it
every day, every day, repeated the, we read about fraud in afghanistan, iraq, pakistan, and now the congress wants us, after giving away our jobs, not fair trade, free trade agreements -- now they want to go back and give them away with korea. i cannot believe the direction that this country has gone in. we keep talking about corporate tax rates. that is the key word. "rate." they are not paying 35%. they are paying 4%, 6%, 9%, and i am making up the difference. the irs is after a...
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Jul 15, 2011
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and she has since then focused on women's and girls issues related to the challenges in afghanistan. so it wasn't something that she intended to focus on when she went to the white house in 2001, but certainly the course of history changed all of that, and she has really immersed herself in finding a way to make a difference in women's and girls lives around the world, and she's taken the opportunity to speak all around the world to issues important to her and to the community. >> noriel rodriguez, i noticed at the nurenl palm desert, california that both ross lynn carter and cokie roberts talked about kind of the sisterhood of first ladies and all the first ladies that showed up and barbra bush will be there in grand rapids today. is there an informal sisterhood of some type among first ladies? >> i think there is. it's really a very small club. there atlanta many people who have the opportunity to serve as first lady, and betty ford and ross lynn carter became very close friends. betty ford was very helpful to rozz lynn carter in the transition between the two presidents and as a r
and she has since then focused on women's and girls issues related to the challenges in afghanistan. so it wasn't something that she intended to focus on when she went to the white house in 2001, but certainly the course of history changed all of that, and she has really immersed herself in finding a way to make a difference in women's and girls lives around the world, and she's taken the opportunity to speak all around the world to issues important to her and to the community. >> noriel...
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Jul 7, 2011
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i announced that we were going to begin drawing down troops in afghanistan and pivot to a transition process where afghans are taking more responsibility for their defense. but we have to do all of this in a fairly gradual way. we can't simply lop off 25 percent off the defense budget overnight. we have to think about all the obligations we have to our current troops who are in the field, and making sure they're properly equipped and safe. we've got to make sure that we are meeting our commitments for those veterans who are coming home. we've got to make sure that -- in some cases, we've got outdated equipment that needs to be replaced. and so i'm committed to reducing the defense budget, but as commander-in-chief, one of the things that we have to do is make sure that we do it in a thoughtful way that's guided by our security and our strategic needs. and i think we can accomplish that. and the nice thing about the defense budget is it's so big, it's so huge, that a 1 percent reduction is the equivalent of the education budget. not -- i'm exaggerating, but it's so big that you can ma
i announced that we were going to begin drawing down troops in afghanistan and pivot to a transition process where afghans are taking more responsibility for their defense. but we have to do all of this in a fairly gradual way. we can't simply lop off 25 percent off the defense budget overnight. we have to think about all the obligations we have to our current troops who are in the field, and making sure they're properly equipped and safe. we've got to make sure that we are meeting our...
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Jul 19, 2011
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we are borrowing $10 billion a month for afghanistan. and yet we're saying we're going to balance the budget by going after poor people, senior citizens, by going after pell grants. people talk about jobs. you have to invest to create jobs. you cut these programs and it is hard to be competitive in these economies. when you cut money for education and transportation infrastructure, it becomes more difficult to become competitive. we need to be smart about this. this approach of exempting corporate welfare, to me, is egregious. let me finally say this, and that is, i will end as i began here, i thought we would be coming back talking about how we're getting closer. and this bill, the best i can -- i hope this is just bad political theater -- but this bill is a sharp right turn. it moves us further away from where i thought we were getting . i hope it does not delay our ability to come to some sort of an agreement between the congressional leadership and the white house. i hope this is not something that further fuels this notion that some
we are borrowing $10 billion a month for afghanistan. and yet we're saying we're going to balance the budget by going after poor people, senior citizens, by going after pell grants. people talk about jobs. you have to invest to create jobs. you cut these programs and it is hard to be competitive in these economies. when you cut money for education and transportation infrastructure, it becomes more difficult to become competitive. we need to be smart about this. this approach of exempting...
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Jul 9, 2011
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one of my constituents from the shenandoah valley who gave his life in afghanistan is being buried at arling nonnational cemetery later this afternoon, and i do want to be there, so i appreciate the opportunity to ask questions of the witnesses before i depart. let me start with ms. matsen. have you heard from -- i've heard from these counties as well, expressing their concern about what takes place in the national forest. it's my understanding that not to the same degree we have in the allegheny national forest where 9 % of the mineral rights are owned by private individuals and only 3% by the national forest. but sub-surface rights are primarily not owned there. but in the george washington national forest, it's my understanding from the national forest that 16% of the land, or about 180e,000 acres are owned by private entities in terms of the sub surface mineral rights. so if one were to see in those portions of the national forest, that land would be subject to your regulation, would it not, and not to the forest service's regulations? >> i will look to my expert to confirm, but a
one of my constituents from the shenandoah valley who gave his life in afghanistan is being buried at arling nonnational cemetery later this afternoon, and i do want to be there, so i appreciate the opportunity to ask questions of the witnesses before i depart. let me start with ms. matsen. have you heard from -- i've heard from these counties as well, expressing their concern about what takes place in the national forest. it's my understanding that not to the same degree we have in the...
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Jul 29, 2011
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40% of the cuts are completely counterfeit. 1 trillion of harry reid's cuts come from drawing down in afghanistan and in iraq. and while were all like to end these conflicts as soon as we possibly can, and with success, harry reid's saving assuming the cost of the war our endeavor. woman already start to draw down in both of these regions. it's almost like saying that we will save trillions of dollars by promising not to invade canada. it's never going to happen. i can't support any plan that begins with the assumption that we have to raise the debt limit and yet doesn't offer a fundamental restructuring of government spending habits. i won't do it. and while i embrace the principles of cut, cap and balance, the bill simply did not go far enough to fundamentally restructure the way that this city stands the american people's money. and it allowed for an increase in the debt limit, something i simply won't do. i also believe that we must repeal and defund obamnicare as part of any solution to our current debt crisis. by? because obamacare is the largest spending and entitlement program ever passed
40% of the cuts are completely counterfeit. 1 trillion of harry reid's cuts come from drawing down in afghanistan and in iraq. and while were all like to end these conflicts as soon as we possibly can, and with success, harry reid's saving assuming the cost of the war our endeavor. woman already start to draw down in both of these regions. it's almost like saying that we will save trillions of dollars by promising not to invade canada. it's never going to happen. i can't support any plan that...
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Jul 20, 2011
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. -- in iraq and afghanistan. host: why did they see this as an area that need to be filled? guest: the problem has been wrapped up in the general difficulties. it turns out a lot of homes have gone into -- a lot of people have gone into default of mortgages. some companies are better than others at collecting monthly payments and keeping track of paperwork. the ones have proved not to be so good at it have caught service members in the riptide. we have not gotten your payment, we over charge them. foreclosure. that sort of thing going on. this has been a politically embarrassing process of writing wrongs done against members of the military in active duty. host: gym as white as a deployed serviceman and against paying his mortgage -- jim asked why a deployed servicemen against paying his mortgage? guest: he is not exempt against paying his mortgage. is exempt against being foreclosed on. as it has been explained to me, a service member might be in the field for a week or two and have virtually no contact with the
. -- in iraq and afghanistan. host: why did they see this as an area that need to be filled? guest: the problem has been wrapped up in the general difficulties. it turns out a lot of homes have gone into -- a lot of people have gone into default of mortgages. some companies are better than others at collecting monthly payments and keeping track of paperwork. the ones have proved not to be so good at it have caught service members in the riptide. we have not gotten your payment, we over charge...
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Jul 30, 2011
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with respect to individuals who may be captured, high-value targets that may be captured outside of afghanistan. as director of nctc, you will be integrally involved in deliberations relative to any proposal for a long-term plan on detention and interrogation and my question to you is, are you prepared to give sound advice, number one, that you are going to be asked to give and secondly, if the administration appears to be headed down a road that you don't think is the right direction to go, will you say to this committee now that you are going to express yourself in a very strong manner to help to try to develop the best possible policy for detention and interrogation of high-value targets even though your opinion may be contrary to the folks at the white house who are nominating you today? >> yes, absolutely and if i may, i do make that pledge. i think in my prior position, i had taken a position. in other words i have given advice in an unvarnished, objective independent way as a career government official. i've made known my personal views and sought to move positions based on my objective
with respect to individuals who may be captured, high-value targets that may be captured outside of afghanistan. as director of nctc, you will be integrally involved in deliberations relative to any proposal for a long-term plan on detention and interrogation and my question to you is, are you prepared to give sound advice, number one, that you are going to be asked to give and secondly, if the administration appears to be headed down a road that you don't think is the right direction to go,...
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Jul 29, 2011
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right now we borrow $10 billion every month for military operations in afghanistan alone to prop up a corrupt and incoetent karzai government. how about ending wasteful subsidies to big agriculture companies? how about asking billionaire hedge fund managers to pay the same tax rates as their secretaries? the truth is that the best way to deal with our long-term fiscal situation is to grow our economy. that means creating jobs and putting people back to work. the last election i thought was about jobs. we haven't talked about jobs at all since the new republican majority became -- came to power. that means investing in things like education and inastructure and green technology and medical research. that's the kind of economic future the american people deserve. the boehner default plan would take us exactly in the wrong direction and urge my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to reject it. i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. the gentleman from california has 5 1/2 minutes remaining. the gentleman is recogn
right now we borrow $10 billion every month for military operations in afghanistan alone to prop up a corrupt and incoetent karzai government. how about ending wasteful subsidies to big agriculture companies? how about asking billionaire hedge fund managers to pay the same tax rates as their secretaries? the truth is that the best way to deal with our long-term fiscal situation is to grow our economy. that means creating jobs and putting people back to work. the last election i thought was...
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Jul 28, 2011
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everybody knows that we are winding down the war in afghanistan and iraq. so, here we are six days away, six days waerbgs and we -- six days away, and we still have members of congress saying we have to pass a balanced budget amendment to the constitution. we have members on the other side who are saying that we have to raise taxes. we have a president of the united states who so far has refused to come forward with a detailed plan of his own. that's called leading from behind. it's time, it's time we listened to the markets. it's time we listened to our constituents. but most of all, it's time we listened to the american people and sit down and seriously negotiate something before we face a situation where we are depriving the american people of the fundamental right of having a government that doesn't deprive them the essential services, goods and entitlements which they have earned.objectio. cork coirkd objection. mr. corker: madam president, i'm here today with a sense of optimism. i know that all of us are very concerned about what's happening in our c
everybody knows that we are winding down the war in afghanistan and iraq. so, here we are six days away, six days waerbgs and we -- six days away, and we still have members of congress saying we have to pass a balanced budget amendment to the constitution. we have members on the other side who are saying that we have to raise taxes. we have a president of the united states who so far has refused to come forward with a detailed plan of his own. that's called leading from behind. it's time, it's...
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Jul 19, 2011
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they're putting money in other places like to the war, places like that in afghanistan, to other wars. that is my question. guest: two interesting things your question brings up. when fdr designed so security, he said, we're going to put it on your checks every week so you will see it being taken out and you will note it is there for you. that was very, very important to fdr and the preservation of the social safety net. also, he said, we are going to make sure that every time -- that you know this is something that is solvent, but the money is there in the bank so it is not a welfare program but it should not be means tested. we all know what happens to welfare programs. we all know they go under the knife. he said it had to apply to everyone. that is one of the things they want to attack at this point, too. you may say, well, the wealthy should not because it is in financial trouble. it is not. the minute you make of a welfare program, the death warrant. host: we have heard recruitment efforts will be hurt by any perceived abandonment in the area of medicare by democratic leaders. y
they're putting money in other places like to the war, places like that in afghanistan, to other wars. that is my question. guest: two interesting things your question brings up. when fdr designed so security, he said, we're going to put it on your checks every week so you will see it being taken out and you will note it is there for you. that was very, very important to fdr and the preservation of the social safety net. also, he said, we are going to make sure that every time -- that you know...
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Jul 22, 2011
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over the entire decade, the cost of afghanistan and iraq wars is about $1.3 trillion. and that is a lot of money. again, that's over ten years, over a decade. this year alone, the deficit is expected to be $1.4 trillion. the deficit this year will be larger than the cost of the iraq and afghanistan wars over ten years. the driving force behind our deficit is not the wars in iraq and afghanistan. it's just not. war costs represent only 4% of total outlays over the last ten years. the total amount of money spent since president obama took office is $8.5 trillion. by the end of his first three years in office, we will have added $5 interest to our gross federal deficit. these are stunning numbers. bush had a widely criticized $450 billion deficit. since president obama has been in ofsz the deficits -- in office the deficit looks like it will be $1.5 trillion. we are borrowing too close to half of what we're spending every single day. in the last few years, discretionary spending, non-defense discretionary spending in the last two years increased 24%. 12% a year on average
over the entire decade, the cost of afghanistan and iraq wars is about $1.3 trillion. and that is a lot of money. again, that's over ten years, over a decade. this year alone, the deficit is expected to be $1.4 trillion. the deficit this year will be larger than the cost of the iraq and afghanistan wars over ten years. the driving force behind our deficit is not the wars in iraq and afghanistan. it's just not. war costs represent only 4% of total outlays over the last ten years. the total...